The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) turned over more than Php 6.4 million worth of community-based sub-projects to different barangays in the municipality of Libacao, Aklan under the agency’s  Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) – National Community Driven Development Program (NCCDP).

DSWD Asst. Secretary for Strategic Communications Romel Lopez said seven different basic access sub-projects were constructed and completed by the communities through the more than Php5.4 million in grants from the DSWD’s KALAHI-CIDSS and over Php985,000 from the local government unit (LGU) of Libacao.

“These sub-projects were identified by the community members themselves based on their assessed needs,” Asst. Sec. Lopez, who is also the DSWD spokesperson, said.

Among the sub-projects referred to by the DSWD spokesperson were the construction and concreting of access pathways, and river bank protection.

Asst. Sec. Lopez said the projects were officially turned over on January 17 by the DSWD Field Office-6 (Western Visayas) led by Asst. Regional Director for Operations (ARDO) Arwin Razo, to the local communities of Barangays Dalagsaan, Casit-an, Manika, Magugba, Pinonoy, Poblacion, and Oyang.

“The turnover of projects signaled that the communities now have the full responsibility to take care of their prioritized projects,” Asst. Sec. Lopez pointed out.

The agency spokesperson also emphasized that the projects would not be possible without the collaboration among the DSWD, LGU of Libacao, and the communities.

“Through the KALAHI-CIDSS projects, we provided an accessible road for the community members in transporting their produce to the market and providing access to the students going to school,” Asst. Sec. Lopez said.

The DSWD spokesperson added: “These sub-projects are expected to create a greater impact not just on the economy of the community but also on the education of the students and the life of the people from the barrios because of the ease that the projects will bring in the daily transportation of the people, goods, and services.”

Aside from these sub-projects, Asst. Sec. Lopez noted that the DSWD, through its KALAHI-CIDSS program, has so far provided more than Php160.1 million in grants for the completion of 89 other basic community projects and pieces of training for the Libacaonons from 2011 to the present.

The Libacao town is one of the two pilot municipalities in the province of Aklan for the program implementation with a grant from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

KALAHI-CIDSS is one of the poverty alleviation projects of the DSWD that aims to empower communities in targeted poor and disaster-affected municipalities, to achieve improved access to services and to participate in more inclusive local planning, budgeting implementation, and disaster risk reduction and management. #